I'll write this one tomorrow

Procrastination. That seems like a good topic for the day... in fact, I have to admit it would be a good topic for most days.

So what's out there of interest on the subject of "procrastination"? Well, trying out the latest version of Wikia Search, it gives Wikipedia as the top result. That seems fitting, I spent several years using Wikipedia as my favourite tool for procrastination.

Which leads nicely to the second result: StructuredProcrastination.com. This is the idea that the way to beat procrastination is to avoid tasks by... doing different tasks.

That almost makes sense. But I'm still not sure that I will be able to persuade myself that photoshoping Uma Thurman into a photo of Hitler and Mussolini is not the best way to avoid writing a report.

Silvered swindle

I love buying jewellery, but luckily my tastes don't run to anything expensive. I'd rather a string of glass beads than something with gold and diamonds. But I do enjoy silver, and have ended up with a pile of necklaces that desperately need cleaning.

So looking around for the best way to clean them, I came across "pristine2u", who sell "electrolytic cleaning plates". Which looked good, despite their badly spelt FAQs, until I found a handy video on YouTube:

I tried this myself today, and got great results. So I think rather than a £12 plate "specialy made from several diferant metals", I'll stick with a pound or so's worth of foil.

I've lost Kyrgyzstan again

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit how badly I did in this map game from Rethinking Schools.

I started off quite well, with Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Turkey fitting in nicely. Then I got Pakistan after a bit of confusion as to where India had got to. I knew Afghanistan bordered Pakistan, but it still took two tries. And then Iran, Iraq and Syria fitted in without too many problems.

But then I pretty much got stuck. I figured out where the 'stans should go, but had no idea which was which. I was convinced Saudi Arabia was a small country somewhere, goodness knows why. And I must have tried Libya in every position in the map before finding the right spot.

The only thing this game is missing is a final score. After all, everyone should get there eventually, but how fast? and with how many mistakes?

This is a great way to learn though, at least I should have some idea of where Mauritania is in the future.

p.s. I missed yesterday! Oops! Ah well, the (mostly) unbroken run was never going to last forever.

When the cat's away, the mice will PARTY.

Here's a nice site from the University of Utah.

Mouse Party allows you to look inside the brains of (animated) mice on various recreational drugs. It's very simplified, but a nice way of showing some of what goes on at a molecular level with these substances. Neatly animated too.

"Congratulations, you have passed"

I just took a mock driving theory test on the AA driving school site. And amazingly, I passed! "Amazingly" because I've never driven, have had no lessons, and hadn't even looked at what the test was like before. Is it really that easy?

Some of the questions were just silly:

You want to turn left at a junction. The view of the main road is restricted. What should you do?

A. Stay well back and wait to see if something comes
B. Build up your speed so that you can emerge quickly
C. Stop and apply the handbrake, even if the road is clear
D. Approach slowly and edge out until you can see more

If the theory test is that unscary, guess it's time to book those lessons.